… and hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. (Emphasis added.)

Jn 5: 28-29

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Eternal life or judgment? That is what is at stake. Yes, at stake for you.

In the Doge in Venice is a painting by Henri met de Bles. It is a painting depicting hell. It is entitled Hell and it is riveting. It captures the horror of death for those who have not chosen good deeds, denied life and are, consequently, consigned to judgment at death.

We live in a cosmopolitan culture. We think of ourselves as “too cool” for such propositions as heaven and hell. Our foolish and deceptive regard for self leads us astray. Little do we recognize the evil deeds we embrace, things we do because we have lost track of heaven and hell – lived distantly from the Divine, from our soul and Creation. Education hath become mis-education, gadgets deadly distractions, affluence and status grand intoxicants.

A case in point: today we litigate matters of religious freedom. There are those among us who seek to silence religion, to privatize it and constrict its expression only to worship.

I give an example. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission in which the state of Colorado seeks to compel a baker to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. The baker objects because he holds religious beliefs that are at odds with same-sex marriage. The issue is important and simple to state: Does the state’s action violate the baker’s rights to free speech and free exercise of religion as protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

This case invokes Jn 5: 28-29. Masterpiece Cakeshop is a clash of good deeds vs. bad deeds. The stakes: heaven or hell. Nothing is more fundamental to the life of a faithful Believer. Indeed, breath itself is inconsequential to those who believe when the cost of citizenship is the consignment to hell. Yes, this case is about life, or death.

In American and Western Culture today we encounter godless groups who invade the body politic and the courts in efforts to make bad deeds good – and in doing so implicate Believers in their misdeeds and coerce Believers to abandon and renounce their faith.